Fascia-iliaca compartment block vs intra-articular hip injection for preoperative pain management in intracapsular hip fractures: A blind, randomized, controlled trial

143 patients awaiting surgery for an intracapsular fracture were randomized to either a fascia iliaca compartment block or intraarticular infiltration analgesia. Only 120 patients - 70 from the FICB group and 50 from the IAIA group - were available for analysis. Outcome measures included pain scores measured at 20 minutes, 12 hours, 24 hours, and 48 hours after administration, and requirement and mean dose of rescue oxycodone administered. While numeric rating scale (NRS) pain scores at rest did not significantly differ between the two groups, NRS pain on movement scores were significantly lower in the IAIA group at each time point. In addition, the number of patients who required oxycodone administration and mean dose of oxycodone administered per patient was significantly lower in the IAIA group.